 Onions has been unable to overcome his troublesome back injury
England bowler Graham Onions has been ruled out of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh with a back injury. The Durham paceman suffered the problem in the nets ahead of the first Test in Chittagong on Friday. "Of course it's frustrating. But on a tour where you only have two weeks to make an impression unfortunately I have run out of time," Onions said. His departure follows that of Ryan Sidebottom, leaving England short of experience in the bowling department. James Anderson is on a rest period, while Stuart Broad faces a fitness test on a troublesome back. Onions continued: "Whenever you come on tour - and especially because this is just my second tour - you are always looking to make an impression. I'm now travelling home and it's very disappointing." The 27-year-old, who has 28 wickets in eight Tests since making his debut against West Indies in 2009, said he was unsure what had caused the injury.  | 606: DEBATE |
"If I'm being totally honest I'm not exactly 100% sure what the problem is because I had an MRI scan and nothing came up on that," he stated. "Hopefully it's just a case of having five to seven days complete rest to get myself ready. The best thing for me is to get myself home and get myself ready for the English summer." Onions played important roles in the Ashes victory over Australia last summer and the 1-1 draw with South Africa, where he twice held firm with the bat at the end of the innings to salvage draws. England's stand-in skipper Alastair Cook said he was disappointed to lose such an important member of the side. "He was a huge part of our plans and he still is, obviously, because of the way he bowled in South Africa, where he was unlucky not to take more wickets than he did, " said Cook. "He bowled really well and I was expecting him come to these conditions and bowl really well too. But these things happen, and luckily we've got the strength in depth in our seam-bowling unit to be able to cope." "We couldn't see how he could physically be ready. Even if he was fit he wouldn't be match-fit to play in the second Test match, so there's obviously no point in him being here." Yorkshire duo Tim Bresnan and Ajmal Shahzad, Middlesex youngster Steven Finn and Durham seamer Liam Plunkett are all competing for places in the England bowling attack.
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